Ukraine, Russia to continue talks Wednesday

Military cadets attend a funeral ceremony for four of the Ukrainian military servicemen, who were killed during an airstrike in a military base in Yarokiv, in a church in Lviv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. At least 35 people were killed and many wounded in Sunday's Russian missile strike on a military training base near Ukraine's western border with NATO member Poland. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

KYIV, Ukraine — A top Ukrainian negotiator says talks with Russia will continue Wednesday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke to Russian negotiators via video link on Monday and Tuesday, described the talks as “very difficult” and vicious.

He said that “there are fundamental contradictions,” but added that “there is certainly room for compromise.”

The talks via video link this week follow three rounds of negotiations in Belarus that have failed to produce any visible progress.

Both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have voiced cautious optimism but haven’t spelled out any details of talks.

In addition to the talks between the two countries, Turkey’s foreign minister is traveling to Moscow as part of efforts to secure a cease-fire.

Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold talks in Moscow on Wednesday before traveling to Ukraine for talks on Thursday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy will brief the U.S. Congress on the ongoing conflict. Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for the West to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The Biden administration again said on Tuesday that it is opposed to that strategy.

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